Bernard Rands’ Preludes in US Premiere with Gloria Cheng

Pianist Gloria Cheng performs the US premiere of Bernard Rands’ Preludes, at The Colburn School on September 20 as part of the 2011/12 Piano Spheres season. Premiered by Robert Levin at the 2007 Ruhr International Piano Festival in Germany, Preludes was a joint commission between Maria and Robert A. Skirnick and the Festival. Rands elaborates on the piece’s origins:

The creative challenge was to compose a work whose 12 sections are integrated into a formal whole at the same time as each prelude has its own formal integrity and thus can be selected and performed separately from the others. Robert Levin's experience, skill and knowledge of early keyboard music was influential in determining the spirit and character of each prelude.

When Debussy completed his Preludes he wrote that he thought they would take their place “to the left of Schumann and to the right of Chopin.” I would suggest that mine are to the left of Bill Evans and to the right of Oscar Peterson, without implying any specific jazz influence but simply that the work of those two great jazz composer/pianists has always been a joy to me.

The program also includes Oliver Knussen's Ophelia's Last Dance and Gavin Bryars' Ramble on Cortona.

Learn more on the program by visiting www.pianospheres.org.

More details on the life and music of Bernard Rands can be found at his Composer Profile and www.bernardrands.com.

Bernard Rands
Preludes (2007)
for piano
40'